Aston Villa 3-1 Nottingham Forest: John McGinn double and Ollie Watkins stunner help Unai Emery's side get back to winning ways
Report and free highlights as Aston Villa beat Nottingham Forest 3-1; John McGinn scored twice after a stunning opener from Ollie Watkins; Morgan Gibbs-White pulled one back but John Victor's error put the game out of reach; Villa move second in the table as Forest lose fourth in a row
Saturday 3 January 2026 15:14, UK
A double from captain John McGinn and a stunner from Ollie Watkins helped Aston Villa get back to winning ways with a 3-1 victory against Nottingham Forest.
Villa were searching for a reaction after their 11-game winning streak was ended by Arsenal last time out but extending their unbeaten run at Villa Park to eight games, momentarily lifting them above Manchester City into second in the Premier League table, was the perfect remedy.
It had the makings of a frustrating afternoon for Villa after dominating 79 per cent of the ball in the first half but only recording one shot on target - until Ollie Watkins fired an emphatic effort into the top corner just before the break.
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The striker, who has responded to his slow start to the season with four goals in three games, missed a golden chance to put Villa ahead in just the second minute but rectified the miss, which had an expected goals value of 0.61 xG, with his long-range strike to break the deadlock.
Captain John McGinn quickly netted a second for the hosts after the restart but their momentum and the atmosphere at Villa Park were blunted when Morgan Gibbs-White pulled one back for Forest just after the hour mark.
However, any hopes of a comeback were ended when John Victor inexplicably rushed out of his area to try and dispossess McGinn, who curled home his second of the afternoon from long range with the goalkeeper nowhere to be seen.
The win gives Unai Emery's side a 12-point gap on Chelsea in fifth, while a fourth defeat in a row for Forest leaves them within touching distance of West Ham in 18th ahead of their meeting, live on Sky Sports, on January 6.
Forest's last trip to Villa Park in April arrived with the club sat in third place. From battling for Champions League football to fighting for survival in less than nine months.
McGinn: We wanted to show a reaction after Arsenal loss
Aston Villa captain John McGinn speaking to Sky Sports:
"It was a poor result [against Arsenal] and we wanted to show a reaction. Maybe it's the start of another 11-game winning run.
"We knew we had to be at our best. A great win for us. I've been trying to add more goals to my game. The manager was hard on me this morning but thankfully I got two goals.
"We can watch the games with our feet up now. What we are building here is special."
Emery: We needed to respond after Arsenal loss
Aston Villa boss Unai Emery speaking to Sky Sports:
"Happy with how we responded after we lost to Arsenal, we needed to recover energy and confidence. After a loss it's always about how to recover confidence and we did it here at Villa Park with our supporters.
"They play more defensive than normal, but they are competitive. We used our game plan to beat them. After Arsenal we met and spoke about how we needed to keep the same consistency we had before, and we identified how we needed to be together, strong."
Dyche: Odd decisions from players cost us the game
Nottingham Forest boss Sean Dyche speaking to Sky Sports:
"The whole game plan was to frustrate them. We know how they play, they've got some very good players. It's tough as a manager, because the players did everything we asked of them in the first half, and then players make odd decisions. Suddenly just before half-time, things changed.
"Simple, basic errors. I must say the reaction to that was brilliant. We had to go more on the front foot and open up, take a risk, and we scored a goal. Then we give away a third, we can all see it's a mistake. It's a tough one, the mentality was there to keep going, but we can't keep making basic errors.
"Similar errors is what we've got to change. We've got to learn when things go against us and correct it. Bad decisions and not enough reaction, they react quicker than us."
